Town approves first reading of $500K loan to STAR on 54th

Times File Photo

By Trevor Busch
Taber Times
editor@tabertimes.com

Dr. Ryan Torrie appeared as a delegation before town council on Oct. 14 and requested a $500,000 loan from the Town to complete the upgrades to the STAR on 54th building, which needs an overhaul of its HVAC system. Council agreed to arrange for a lending bylaw for the STAR that will allow the Town to loan $500K at an interest rate of 4.5 per cent for 10 years. Included will be the option to pay the loan out before maturity with no penalty. In accordance with the Municipal Government Act, a municipality may only lend money to a non-profit organization if the loan is authorized by bylaw.

 At the following council meeting on Oct. 28, John Orwa, CFO, said, ”Before you is the lending bylaw. This is to allow us to lend money to STAR as per the MGA. At this point, we’re just requesting the first reading to give us time to go through the advertisement, and once there’s no appeal, we will bring it back for the second and third reading so that we can lend them the money.”

 As the motion to approve the first reading of the bylaw was being made, Coun. Jack Brewin interjected, asking what the Town was doing for security on the loan. At the Oct. 14 meeting, Torrie offered to include the $2.3 million building as collateral if the Town required it. In response to Brewin’s question, Orwa said the security measure had not been included in the motion. 

“I just go by the motion unless council revises the motion,” Orwa said.

“Coun. Brewin, any concerns there?” asked Mayor Prokop.

“I have no concerns if council feels good with it,” Brewin replied.

Coun. Remfert made the motion to approve first reading and council voted unanimously in favour of it.

 The Society for Taber Arts and Recreation on 54th is still undergoing its multi-phase completion and will be expensive to bring up to code. The STAR is housed in an old church building that was constructed in three stages, making it difficult to tie the system components together. Torrie said the main hurdle that he’s facing is making the phase two and three upgrades to the HVAC system.

 Torrie’s goal is to get the STAR fully operational as quickly as possible because that will allow it to apply for more arts and heritage grants as well as open rental spaces that will generate income. On Oct. 14, he said the plumbing and HVAC could be completed by mid-winter and that “we will rapidly repay the loan, easily within 10 years.”